News

Sean Penn knows what it takes to hold the fort. That being said, the 64-year-old Oscar-winning actor has quite a few experiences in getting his hands dirty while protecting their turf.

The Malibu, California, native recently appeared on John Mulaney’s candid talk show, Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, where Penn shared stories from his teenage years. The first season of Mulaney’s loosely scripted, impromptu weekly talk show came to a wrap with Penn gracing the guest’s seat in the episode titled, “What Is on the Minds of Teens?”

As Mulaney asked Penn to reflect on his adolescence years, Penn held no bars when he admitted that he always went miles to protect his turf at the Malibu beach, to the extent of committing a felony arson.

Sean Penn admits to committing a ‘crime’ when he was a youngster

In the last episode of the first season of his show,...

Here’s a trivia question for everyone: What’s the connection between Star Trek: The Original Series and the movies The Goonies, Throw Momma from the Train, and Scrooged? The answer is… Logan Ramsey, the late, great character actor whose career spanned from 1948 to 1999 and who would have turned 104 on March 21, 2025.

Star Trek fans will recall that Ramsey low-key chewed the scenery as Proconsul Claudius Marcus in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Bread and Circuses.” He’s the character who gave his slave, Drusilla (Lois Jewell), to Captain Kirk (William Shatner), so that Kirk could enjoy “some last hours as a man” before his execution. Sadly, Ramsey died of a heart attack at the age of 79 in 2000.

In addition to Star Trek, he counted among his many theater, movie, and television credits The Devil’s Disciple and The Great Indoors, both on stage; the films Head, Walking Tall, Any Which Way You Can,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The first appearance of the now-famed Vulcan nerve pinch was in the "Star Trek" episode "The Enemy Within", wherein Spock (Leonard Nimoy) used it to incapacitate en evil duplicate of Captain Kirk (William Shatner). The nerve pinch was evidently so exactly placed on a victim's neck, and so strongly squeezed by the perpetrator, that it would induce almost instant unconsciousness. Rowdy Trekkie kids witnessed the nerve pinch and likely tried it out in their siblings, much to the consternation of their parents. No, kids, the Vulcan nerve pinch doesn't work in real life.

Nimoy himself invented the idea for the Vulcan nerve pinch. The multi-hyphenate, it seems, didn't like the violence that the "Enemy Within" script called for. It read that Spock "kayoes" Kirk, by hitting him in the head with the butt of his phaser. Nimoy, however, was a pacifist,...

Sean Penn rarely grants interviews — he and the press haven’t always gotten along, to say the least — but last week, at his home in Malibu, the venerated actor and filmmaker sat down with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast for an in-depth conversation about his life, career and most recent project, Daddio, an indie, released last Friday, of which he is particularly proud.

Seated in a small, light-filled room that he recently re-designed himself, the walls of which are covered with photos of his late parents, his two children and himself alongside many of world figures he has encountered in his travels as an activist, Penn, sporting a shock of white hair, puffed on cigarettes, spoke softly and was far warmer than his reputation would suggest he’d be. At 63, thrice divorced and currently single, he seems to have found a measure of peace — at least when one...

In the "Star Trek" episode "The Enemy Within", Captain Kirk (William Shatner) beams up from the planet Alpha 177 covered in a mysterious magnetic dust. Unbeknownst to any of the Enterprise crew, the dust has fouled up the transporter and created a second Kirk inside its memory buffer. After Kirk leaves the room, the second Kirk materializes ... but displays an altered personality. It seems that Kirk has been bifurcated into a gentle version of himself and a cruel, aggressive version of himself. For much of "The Enemy Within," the Evil Kirk stalks around the halls of the U.S.S. Enterprise, startling the crew and accosting Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). Gentle Kirk soon realizes that he needs his aggression back in order to be whole. Eventually, the two Kirks confront one another. 

"Star Trek" had a modest budget back in the day, and it certainly didn't have the resources to...

On the 1966 "Star Trek" episode "The Enemy Within," Captain Kirk (played by one-time /Film writer William Shatner) beams up from a geological research mission covered in a rare magnetic dust. The dust causes a glitch in the Enterprise's transporter, resulting in Kirk bifurcating into two separate beings. The first Kirk to beam up contains all of Kirk's intelligence and rationality, while the second Kirk -- arriving a few moments later -- contains all of his aggression or anger. With a "good" captain and an "evil" captain on board the Enterprise, mayhem ensues. 

By the end of the episode, both Kirks must face off, and then, naturally, reunite. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) points out that Kirk cannot be an effective captain without his irrational rage and aggression; as a gentle person, he's not complete. The "evil" Kirk is a madman but he's also a vital part of Kirk's core being. "The Enemy...

Summer light fades to gold in Malibu. Surfers carve tasty waves just down the road. A beautiful woman wanders toward the pool house. She crosses paths with a sweet dog heading the opposite way looking for an ear rub.

Diet Cokes are poured at Sean Penn’s house. Small talk is made about how the coffee table in his living room looks like a junk drawer just exploded on it. There are sunglasses, prescription bottles and a device that shoots salt at mosquitoes. Nearby are photos of famous people, all smoking. They are opposite a poster for “A Man Called Adam,” a Sammy Davis Jr. film directed by Leo Penn, Sean’s father.

Another wall holds a frame containing a Ukraine Order of Merit medal. Penn is 63 and dressed in a simple T-shirt and blue jeans. His hair is now a shock of white. He speaks of the United Nations,...

Hollywood is mourning.

Actress Eileen Ryan, mother of Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn, died at her home in Malibu on Oct. 9, a week before turning 95, a publicist announced to The Hollywood Reporter.

Read More: Sean Penn Attends January 6 Congressional Hearing: ‘We’re Looking To See If Justice Comes’

Ryan’s eldest son Michael Penn also confirmed the news in a post on Twitter, alongside a throwback photo.

We lost mom yesterday pic.twitter.com/r9XSKdEeE5

— Michael Penn (@MPenn) October 10, 2022

Born Eileen Annucci, the actress got her start onstage, making her Broadway debut in Sing Till Tomorrow in 1953.

She and late husband Leo Penn met while rehearsing a production of The Iceman Cometh in 1957.

Read More: Ben Stiller And Sean Penn Permanently Banned From Entering Russia Amid Support For Ukraine

Ryan also appeared in guest roles in numerous TV series, including “The Twilight Zone”, “ER”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and more.

Tributes have been pouring in for actress Eileen Ryan, the mother of actors Sean and Christopher Penn and musician Michael Penn, who has died at 94. Ryan passed away on Sunday, October 9, at her home in Malibu. The death comes a week before Ryan would have celebrated her 95th birthday on October 16. Ryan was a prolific actor, having appeared in over 60 television shows and films over her decades-long career. She had roles in numerous classic TV shows, including The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Matlock, ER, Little House of the Prairie, Ally McBeal, Private Practice, NYPD Blue, Without a Trace, and Grey’s Anatomy. Born on October 16, 1927, in New York City, Ryan made her first on-screen appearance in 1955 in an episode of Goodyear Television Playhouse. In 1957, she married the actor Leo Penn, remaining together for over 40 years until Leo’s death in 1998. The couple had three children together, Michael, Sean, and Christopher, all of...

Eileen Ryan has died at the age of 94, just a few days ahead of her 95th birthday.

The actor and mother of Sean, Chris and Michael Penn died on Sunday (9 October) at her Malibu, California home, according to her publicist.

On Monday 10 October, singer Michael tweeted a photo of his mother with the caption: “We lost mom yesterday.”

Born in New York on 16 October 1927, Ryan met fellow actor Leo Penn in 1975 at rehearsals for the production of The Iceman Cometh. They got married within months and were together for 41 years until Leo’s death in 1998.

Ryan made her TV debut in 1955’s Goodyear Televisions Playhouse and later became known for her roles in films such as 1989’s Parenthood, alongside Steve Martin, and 2001’s The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson.

During her nearly six-decade-long screen career, some of her highlights included playing Sean and Chris’ grandmother in 1986’s crime drama At Close...

Eileen Ryan, the actor and mother of composer Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn, died at her home on Oct. 9. She was 94.

Ryan’s acting work included portraying Sean and Chris’ grandmother in 1986’s “At Close Range,” as well as appearing in 1995’s “The Crossing Guard,” directed and written by Sean.

Ryan was born on Oct. 16, 1927, in New York, the daughter of nurse Rose Isabel and dentist Amerigo Giuseppe Annucci. In 1957, Ryan met director and actor Leo Penn at rehearsals for the play “Iceman Cometh.” They married a few months later, and remained together for 41 years until Leo’s death in 1998.

During her screen career, which spanned nearly six decades, Ryan guest starred on series such as “Goodyear Playhouse,” “Studio One,” “The Detectives,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Outlaws,” “Bonanza,” “Matlock,” “NYPD Blue” and “Men of a Certain Age.”

In addition to “At Close Range” and “The Crossing Guard,...

Click here to read the full article.

Eileen Ryan, an actress who appeared on Broadway and in films and TV shows in collaborations with her late husband, actor-director Leo Penn, and her two-time Oscar-winning son, Sean Penn, died Sunday at her home in Malibu, a publicist announced. She was 94.

Survivors also include another son, composer-songwriter Michael Penn. Her youngest boy, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006.

Ryan gave up her acting career — once turning down the lead in a John Frankenheimer-directed film — to become a full-time mother. However, she returned to take small parts in such projects as At Close Range (1986), where she played the grandmother of characters portrayed by Sean and Christopher.

One of three sisters, Eileen Annucci was born in New York on Oct. 16, 1927. She made her Broadway debut in 1953 in Sing Till Tomorrow, then worked alongside Judith Anderson, George C. Scott and Larry Hagman in 1958 in Comes a Day.

Eileen Ryan, veteran actress and mother to composer and songwriter Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Christopher Penn, died at her home this past Sunday at the age of 94, her reps tell TheWrap.

Born in New York City in 1927, Ryan married actor and director Leo Penn in 1957 after meeting him at rehearsals for “The Iceman Cometh,” remaining together until Penn’s death in 1998. Over her nearly 60-year career in television, Ryan appeared in bit roles on episodes of various famous television shows, including the “Twilight Zone” episode “A World of Difference” where she plays the ex-wife of a businessman who discovers that his life is actually a role in a TV show, and that he is actually a failing actor on the verge of insolvency.

Also Read:

Nikki Finke, Pioneering Journalist and Scourge of Hollywood, Dies at 68

Ryan also had cameos on shows including “Bonanza,” “Little House on the Prairie,...

Actor Eileen Ryan, the mother of actors Sean Penn and Christopher Penn and musician Michael Penn, died Sunday at her home, just a week short of her 95th birthday.

Ryan, born Eileen Annucci, met fellow actor Leo Penn in 1957 at rehearsals for The Iceman Cometh, a Circle in the Square production (Leo Penn had taken over for Jason Robards). The two were married within a few months, a marriage that lasted 41 years until Leo Penn’s death in 1998.

Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery

From her first TV appearance in 1955’s Goodyear Television Playhouse, Ryan had a steady and prolific acting career for decades, with guest roles on The Twilight Zone, The Detectives, Ben Casey, Marcus Welby, M.D., Little House on the Prairie, Ally McBeal, and Grey’s Anatomy, among many others. On the big screen, she often appeared in the her sons’ various projects, including At Close Range,...

Histrionic 1966 picture about a struggling musician has worthy ambitions but is deeply unhip

Time has not lent much to this histrionically earnest issue picture starring Sammy Davis Jr from 1966, in which the life of a troubled African American jazz hepcat is quaintly imagined by the husband-and-wife screenwriting team of Lester and Tina Pine; the director is industry stalwart Leo Penn (father of Sean), who had been blacklisted in his former career as an actor after refusing to testify to the red-baiting Huac. Well, the film certainly challenges the all-white consensus, and a supporting cast including Cicely Tyson and no less a figure than Louis Armstrong gives it substance.

Davis plays Adam Johnson, a brilliant but mercurial jazz musician and singer, facing casual racism from the cops and stricken with depression and alcoholism after a car crash killed his wife and child and blinded one of his own musicians. His wild...

The son of actor/director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, Sean Penn will be keeping up the family tradition this year at Cannes when he premieres Flag Day in Competition. Based on her 2004 memoir, the film follows Jennifer Vogel’s personal story of idolizing her bank robber and conman father. Penn directs and plays the dad character, while—in a startling breakout turn—his daughter Dylan stars as Jennifer, and his son Hopper plays her brother. Flag Day comes after Penn dedicated the past year to the distribution of Covid-19 tests and vaccines through Core (Community Organized Relief Effort), a humanitarian project he founded in 2010 following the Haiti earthquake tragedy. This will be his 11th appearance in Cannes.

Deadline: How long had you developed Flag Day, and how long did it take for you to feel that your daughter Dylan had the chops to play Jennifer Vogel, and that...

Actor David Morse joins Josh and Joe to talk about his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Slaughter Rule (2002)

Dancer In The Dark (2000)

A History Of Violence (2005)

The Indian Runner (1991)

Inside Moves (1980) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Death Wish (1974) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

The Virtuoso (2021)

The Crossing Guard (1995)

Prototype (1983)

Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991)

Seven Beauties (1975)

Swept Away (1974)

Mimic (1997)

Hannibal (2001)

Mean Streets (1973)

Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

Being There (1979) – Alan Spencer’s trailer commentary

The Ghost of Peter Sellers (2018)

A Shot In The Dark (1964) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Papillon (1973)

Straight Time (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Straw Dogs (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Wait Until Dark (1967) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Catch 22 (1970) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Desperate Hours (1990)

The Bounty...

Region B Blu-ray-capable noir fans have a formidable six-pack of noir crime pictures on tap: a WW2 espionage thriller, two caper pix and the show that launched the notion of a hit man who’s both charismatic and psychopathic. The list of leading actors is stellar as well: Glenn Ford, Kim Novak, Eli Wallach, Brian Keith, James Whitmore and Nina Foch. Do you like extras? Like to read about the movies you see? No video extra has been left behind, and Pi’s big yellow box contains a 120-page book. Plus — several newly remastered Three Stooges shorts. Don’t forget, Noir and Stooges go together like sanity and American politics!

Columbia Noir #1

Region B Blu-ray

Escape in the Fog, The Undercover Man, Drive a Crooked Road, 5 Against the House, The Garment Jungle, The Lineup

Powerhouse Indicator

1945-1958 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen, 1:37 Academy / 8 hours, 11 min. / Street Date November 30, 2020 / available...

Roy Dana (R.D.) Call, an actor who appeared in such films as “Last Man Standing,” “Born on the Fourth of July” and several other films alongside Sean Penn, died on Feb. 27 of back surgery complications, his family announced. He was 70.

The Utah native was born Feb. 16, 1950 and came to Los Angeles in 1975 to pursue his career in acting, attending Lee Strasberg Acting School and Lonny Chapman’s L.A. Repertory Theater Group. His first major television performance was in the drama “Barnaby Jones,” episodes of which were directed by Leo Penn, Sean Penn’s father. He went on to appear on “The X-Files,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “V” and “Trapper John M.D,” and had a recurring role in Stephen King’s “Golden Years.”

Call acted alongside Penn in seven films that began with “At Close Range” in 1986, followed by “Colors,” “State of Grace,” “The Weight of Water,...

More than a movie star: America’s one female Hollywood director working in the 1950s receives a four-title boxed set well worth the investment — one noir mini-masterpiece is accompanied by a pair of independent social issue movies better than what the studios were turning out. It’s all thanks to Lupino’s fine dramatic direction. She emphasizes basic human values: cooperation over competition, and interior conflict. Her company ‘The Filmmakers’ lasted only about six years, but as an independent experiment it consistently turned out ‘special’ pictures anybody could be proud of.

Ida Lupino Filmmaker Collection

Blu-ray

Not Wanted, Never Fear, The Hitch-Hiker, The Bigamist

Kl Studio Classics

1949-1953 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen (1) 1:37 Academy (3) / 91, 81, 71, 79 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle, Leo Penn, Hugh O’Brian, Joan Fontaine, Edmond O’Brien, Ida Lupino, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman.

Cinematography: Henry Freulich; Archie Stout; George E. Diskant...

Unsung actress Beverly Garland becomes TV’s first lady cop, in what’s claimed to be the first TV show filmed on the streets of New York City. This one-season wonder from 1957 has vintage locations, fairly tough-minded storylines and solid performances, from Bev and a vast gallery of stage and TV actors on the way up.

Decoy

(Policewoman Decoy)

TV Series

DVD

Film Chest Media

1957-’58 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame (TV) / 39 x 30 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / 19.98

Starring: Beverly Garland

Art Direction (some episodes): Mel Bourne

Original Music: Wladimir Selinsky

Written by Lillian Andrews, Nicholas E. Baehr, Cy Chermak, Jerome Coopersmith, Don Ettlinger, Frances Frankel, Steven Gardner, Abram S. Ginnes, Mel Goldberg, Saul Levitt, Leon Tokatyan

Produced by Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander, Stuart Rosenberg, Everett Rosenthal

Directed by Teddy Sills, Stuart Rosenberg, David Alexander, Michael Gordon, Don Medford, Arthur H. Singer, Marc Daniels

How did I experience...

I don’t like rituals, period. Whether straitlaced (Christian) or darkly purposed (Satanic), I just find them creepy…and off. So while I won’t stand on ceremony, I will watch, with fascination, films that trot out such pageantry. One of my favorites is a two part TV mini-series, The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978). Oh, and its horror, but I’m sure you already guessed that.

Originally airing on NBC Monday, January 23rd (in the NBC Monday Night at the Movies slot) and Tuesday the 24th, 1978, Dark Secret was up against the CBS juggernaut of M*A*S*H/One Day at a Time/Lou Grant. But while many were watching Hawkeye, Schneider, et al crack wise, something insidious was brewing over at The Peacock.

Pull out your yellowed copy of TV Guide and let’s have a look shall we?

The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home (Monday-Tuesday, 9pm,...

There’s the usual stockpile when we mention horror anthology TV series. Twilight Zone sits firmly on top for most, and then follows Outer Limits, Thriller, Tales from the Crypt, Masters of Horror, Night Gallery, and on and on. (The rankings are up to you.) And sometimes, way down in the pile of yellowed TV Guides lays one that time forgot (and Nielsen killed). Witness NBC’s Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (1972), a one season and done series that provided solid stories well told over 23 episodes.

If the title seems confusing, it’s because it was known as Ghost Story for the first 13 episodes (plus pilot), and then Circle of Fear for the last 9. Low ratings prompted the name change, which proceeded when the show returned from the Christmas break. Rotund host Sebastian Cabot also didn’t survive the retooling.

So what sank the show? ABC aired Room 222/The Odd Couple opposite it,...

Sean Penn: Honorary César goes Hollywood – again (photo: Sean Penn in '21 Grams') Sean Penn, 54, will receive the 2015 Honorary César (César d'Honneur), the French Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Crafts has announced. That means the French Academy's powers-that-be are once again trying to make the Prix César ceremony relevant to the American media. Their tactic is to hand out the career award to a widely known and relatively young – i.e., media friendly – Hollywood celebrity. (Scroll down for more such examples.) In the words of the French Academy, Honorary César 2015 recipient Sean Penn is a "living legend" and "a stand-alone icon in American cinema." It has also hailed the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner as a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director." Penn will be honored at the César Awards ceremony on Feb. 20, 2015. Sean Penn movies Sean Penn movies range from the teen comedy...

Just released in UK cinemas, Quartet is Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut. He has followed the path of many great actors before him that have turned their attentions and talents towards directing. In this Top 10 we take a look at some other note-worthy actors turned directors to put on your must watch list.

Sean Penn - With a career like Sean Penn’s, which includes award-winning films Dead Man Walking, I Am Sam and Milk, he was set as a Hollywood legend. Wanting more, Penn decided to follow in his father Leo Penn’s footsteps and begin directing. Thankfully he did pick up the camera or we wouldn’t have film greats like The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, The Pledge and Into the Wild.

George Clooney - The silver fox of Hollywood made his big break at the cape crusader Batman back in 1997’s Batman and Robin and since then,...

Latest Additions Include Star-Studded Appearances, Noted Film Historians,

An Opening-Night Poolside Screening of High Society (1956)

And a Vanity Fair Showcase of Architecture in Film

Complete Schedule for 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival

Now Available at http://www.tcm.com/festival

With just over two weeks left before opening day, the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival continues to expand its already-packed slate with new events and live appearances:

On opening night of the festival, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be the site of a poolside screening of the lavish Cole Porter musical High Society (1956), starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Actresses Maud Adams and Eunice Gayson will attend a 50th Anniversary screening of the James Bond classic Dr. No (1962) and participate in a conversation about being “Bond Girls.” Filmmaker Mel Brooks will be on hand to introduce his brilliant parody Young Frankenstein (1974). Filmmaker John Carpenter will introduce his favorite film, the...

HollywoodNews.com: Our selected celebrity to be included in our “Hot Hollywood Celebrity Photo Gallery of the Week” is Sean Penn.

Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt ◄ Back Next ►Picture 1 of 12

Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt - 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival - "The Tree of Live" Premiere - Arrivals - Palais des Festivals - Cannes, France

This year, the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates at their World Summit will recognize a high-profile personality making an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace. Sean Penn is that person. Sean is an actor, founder and CEO of J/P Haitian Relief Organization, and will be presented with the 2012 Peace Summit Award during the summit for his work to rebuild and aid the victims of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, as well as his ongoing advocacy for peace and human rights protection worldwide.

Penn has been...

HollywoodNews.com: Our selected celebrity to be included in our “Hot Hollywood Celebrity Photo Gallery of the Day” is Sean Penn. Sean was at the premiere of Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” starring Brad Pitt, at the Cannes Film Festival.

Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt ◄ Back Next ►Picture 1 of 12

Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt - 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival - "The Tree of Live" Premiere - Arrivals - Palais des Festivals - Cannes, France

◄ Back Next ►Picture 1 of 12

Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt - 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival - "The Tree of Live" Premiere - Arrivals - Palais des Festivals - Cannes, France

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), as...

Sadly there aren’t many all around talents like Sammy Davis Jr. anymore. He could do anything and out perform anybody. Sing, dance, act, play several instruments, comedian, impressionist… You name it. he could do it, brilliantly. The entertainer’s entertainer.

Though his film and TV acting career was pretty spotty in terms of quality, he appeared in over 300 films and guest appearances on TV series, movies, variety shows and sit-coms during his career. Yet few have seen what could be one of his shining moments in the 1966 independently made film A Man Called Adam, which is actually a rather downbeat drama about an unsympathetic, self-centered, self-destructive, jazz musician.

Directed by TV director Leo Penn (Sean’s father), the film also features some absolutely great music and a black romance between Davis and the lovely dark-skinned Cicely Tyson, wearing her, back then, trademark short afro that was considered pretty radical and daring back then.

Singer/songwriter Michael Penn has been making albums for two decades and is sad to see them go. Not only the physical media, but the album as an art form, a concept, a story with two acts. He's not the kind of musician who's excited that you can listen to your favorite mix on your phone. The son of actress Eileen Ryan and once-blacklisted actor/director Leo Penn, brother of Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn, Michael's no stranger to the movie business, but that seems to be the reason he chose to try and avoid it -- at least until 1996, when he relented and began scoring films for director Paul Thomas Anderson. More recently, he's composed the scores for "American Teen" and "Sunshine Cleaning," and contributed three songs to IFC's "Bollywood Hero," so I talked to him about that, what his influences are and what a drag the music industry is.

One afternoon in January, Sean Penn answers the door of his Bay Area home, shoeless, in jeans and a gray thermal undershirt, his hair sort of crazily mussed, looking as if he’s just woken up. It’s a couple of minutes past noon. To say that Penn has “aged well” is to employ a nonstandard usage of the term. He does not look younger than his 48 years. His forehead is baroquely creased, his long face haggard, his hair soaring and gray-streaked and parted down the middle. Something Penn is wearing,...

Actor Chris Penn, brother of Sean Penn and star of such films as Reservoir Dogs and Mulholland Falls, was found dead Tuesday at a condominium in Santa Monica; he was 40. Few details were released surrounding Penn's death late Tuesday afternoon, though sources reported there were no signs of foul play, and an autopsy was to be conducted to determine the cause of death. A spokesperson for the Penn family confirmed the actor's passing and released a statement saying that Penn's family "would appreciate the media's respect of their privacy during this difficult time." The son of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, Penn was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn, and began his acting career in the early 80s, appearing in such films as Rumble Fish, All the Right Moves, and Footloose; he appeared alongside his brother in the 1986 film At Close Range. Penn went on to specialize in working-class character roles, achieving fame for his portrayal of Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs as well as such films as Short Cuts, The Funeral (for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination), and Mulholland Falls. Most recently, he appeared in the film version of Starsky & Hutch as well as episodes of TV series Entourage and Everwood, and his latest film, The Darwin Awards, was slated for a premiere Wednesday night at the Sundance Film Festival. --Prepared by IMDb Staff ...

Actor Chris Penn, brother of Sean Penn and star of such films as Reservoir Dogs and Mulholland Falls, was found dead Tuesday at a condominium in Santa Monica; he was 43. Few details were released surrounding Penn's death late Tuesday afternoon, though sources reported there were no signs of foul play, and an autopsy was to be conducted to determine the cause of death. A spokesperson for the Penn family confirmed the actor's passing and released a statement saying that Penn's family "would appreciate the media's respect of their privacy during this difficult time." The son of director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, Penn was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn, and began his acting career in the early 80s, appearing in such films as Rumble Fish, All the Right Moves, and Footloose; he appeared alongside his brother in the 1986 film At Close Range. Penn went on to specialize in working-class character roles, achieving fame for his portrayal of Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs as well as such films as Short Cuts and Mulholland Falls. Most recently, he appeared in episodes of TV series Entourage and Everwood, and his latest film, The Darwin Awards, was slated for a premiere Wednesday night at the Sundance Film Festival. --Prepared by IMDb Staff ...

The Penn family was honored by the AFI Associates of the American Film Institute with its Platinum Circle Award at a luncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. The clan was recognized Friday for their creative contributions to the entertainment community. Honored were family matriarch Eileen Ryan Penn; Sean Penn and his wife, actress Robin Wright Penn; singer-songwriter Michael Penn and his wife, singer-songwriter Aimee Mann; and Chris Penn. Leo Penn, the writer-director-actor who headed the family and who died in 1998, was also honored. "Families are sometimes feuding, sometimes fickle, but always there for each other and stronger as one," AFI director and CEO Jean Picker Firstenberg said. "This dynamic cannot be better embodied than the family of Leo and Eileen Penn, and we are here today, Eileen, to honor the incredible talent you nurtured together and shared with us all."...

Actor Sean Penn has finally quit his four-pack-a-day smoking habit after watching his father Leo Penn dying of lung cancer. Penn, who turned 40 last year, says he'd been trying to kick the habit for some time but it was seeing his movie director dad lose his battle with lung cancer that finally urged him into action. Penn says, "I always told myself that I should quit smoking at 30. By 40 there was no choice anymore. Watching my father die was the clincher." And smoking's not the only habit Penn's kicking - he's thinking about walking away from his acting career. "I don't get a lot of enjoyment from it," he admits. "Acting is always a struggle and now it's more of an emotional struggle because I don't enjoy it so much."...